History’s Most Dangerous Theme Park Rides:Perilous Plunge

Plagued with technical issues upon its debut, the Perilous Plunge is billed as the tallest and steepest water ride in the world. The initial design for the log flume did not provide proper restraints and in 2002, a woman riding fell out of her seat and plummeted over 100 feet to her tragic death. Obviously eager to fix the problem, new cars were ordered that featured safer harnesses.

In doing so, however, the park failed to consider the difference in their weight and thus the flume’s chain nearly broke due to stress. Unsurprisingly, the ride was shut down once again and is currently closed for redesign.